Heater for food products



March 7, 1967 F. o. CLIFFORD ETAL 3,307,473

I HEATER FOR FOOD PRODUCTS Filed 0st. 10, 1960 i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS FRANK O. CLIFFORD CHRISv W. YODER Mam}! 1967 no. CLIFFORD ETAL3,307,473

Q HEATERFORIFOOD PRODUCTS Filed Oct. 10, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIH JINVENTORS FRANK o. CLIFFORD CHRIS w. YODER BY QM WWW fim United StatesPatent Office 3,307,473 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 3,307,473 HEATER FOR F001)PRODUCTS Frank 0. Clifford, 'Kokorno, and Chris W. Yoder, Gos'nen, Ind.,assignors to Komo Corporation, Kokomo, Ind., a corporation of IndianaFiled Oct. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 61,461 12 Claims. (Cl. 99-234) Thisinvention relates to apparatus for heating and maintaining food productssuch as buns for hamburgers, rolls for hotdogs, and the like in a warmfresh-like condition.

In commercial establishments which both prepare and dispense largevolumes of food products for consumption on the premises or for take-outorders, a serious problem arises in connection with having a largesupply of food products available which must be dispensed in a warmfresh-like condition at different times despite the fact that such foodproducts loose their fresh quality within a short period of time. Suchproblems exist especially in'connect-ion with bread products includinghamburger buns, hotdog rolls and the like. It is impracticable for anestablishment dispensing large quantities of hamburgers and hotdogs forexample to be steadily supplied with fresh bread products all day.Accordingly, these bread products are delivered in sufficient quantitiesand individually heated and maintained warm at the time it is being usedto form a sandwich about some meat product. This invention therefore isprimarily concerned with the apparatus for conditioning the breadproducts hereinabove referred tofor immediate use as desired. It istherefore a primary object of this invention to provide food warmingapparatus which will instantaneously heat the food products and thenmaintain it warm during preparation of the item being prepared.

Another object of this invention is to provide heating and warmingapparatus for buns, rolls or the like which will not only heat and warmthe product but will do so in a manner as to give it a fresh-likequality.

An additional object of this invention is to provide apparatus forinstantaneously heating and maintaining warm buns, rolls or the like byapplication thereto of a dry steam and warming heat which avoidsrendering the buns, rolls or the like soggy as has heretoforecharacterized previously used apparatus. Also, the buns, rolls or thelike so conditioned are not rendered dry or brittle.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a heating headassembly mounted below a sandwich wrapping table, which table exposes ahot plate forming the top of the heating head assembly upon which thebuns may be placed for heating and warming thereof pursuant to thisinvention.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a heating headassembly for heating and warming purlposes in combination with aminiature boiler device all of which apparatus is mounted below asandwich wrapping table and selectively operable to supply a charge ofdry steam for heating a bun placed on the hot plate, which hot plateotherwise maintains the bun in a warm condition.

The apparatus of this invention therefore includes the combination of aminiature boiler device including an insulated tank into which inletwater may be admitted. An electrical heating unit converts the waterinto steam, which heating unit is controlled by a pressure responsivedevice so as to supply steam from the boiler device at a predeterminedpressure. The heating head assembly is connected to the boiler devicewhich heating head assembly is mounted below the sandwich wrappingtable. The top of the heating head is in the form of a hot platereceived within an opening within the table, which hot plate has aplurality of apertures therein through which dry steam is ejected forheating the bun or roll placed upon the hot plate. Also, the hot platewill be maintained in a heated condition by the heating head assembly soas to maintain the bun warm after initially being heated. The heatinghead assembly has defined therein a steam pressure chamber in heatexchanging relation to a dry steam chamber disposed thereabove and justbelow the hot plate. A solenoid actuated valve mechanism controls theadmission of steam from the steam pressure chamber into the dry steamchamber in such a manner that only dry steam is admitted theretoavoiding the ejection of wet steam through the apertures in the hotplate to thereby prevent the bun or roll placed on the hot plate frombecoming soggy. A momentary type switch device is therefore mountedadjacent the hot plate for momentarily energizing the solenoid toactuate the valve mechanism whereby a charge of dry steam may be ejectedfrom the apertures in the hot plate to instantaneously heat the bun orroll placedupon the hot plate. The apertures on the hot plate aretherefore so arranged geometrically relative to the bun or roll placedon the hot plate as to evenly distribute the heat or dry steam appliedto the products. It will therefore be appreciated that the novel heatinghead assembly not only heats and warms the food product but alsoconditions it by reducing the moisture of the steam so that the bun orrolls will have a warm freshlike quality. Also, the heat head assemblyoperates in a rapid manner commensurate with the requirements of a largevolume enterprise. Furthermore, the heating head assembly may bemanufactured economically and easily installed in any desiredinstallation together with the miniature boiler device for supplyingsteam thereto.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of a sandwich wrapping tableillustrating the installation of the heating head assembly of thisinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 22 in FIG- URE l and illustrating the boilerdevice and heating head assembly combination of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a side sectional view through the heating head assembly ofthis invention.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom view of the heating head assembly.

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating the solenoid actuatedvalve mechanism.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a second form of hot plate that may beused in conjunction with the heating head assembly of this invention.

FIGURE 7 is a partial sectional view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 77 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIGURE 1 illustrates oneexemplary installation for the apparatus of this invention. It willtherefore be observed that the sandwich wrapping table top generallyindicated by reference numeral 10 has mounted therein and extendingslightly thereabove, a hot plate generally indicated by referencenumeral 12. Also, a momentary type switch device 14 is mountedprojecting above the table top 10 adjacent to the pot plate 12 so thatupon actuation of the switch 14 and release thereof, dry heating steamwill be ejected through the apertures 16 in the hot plate 12 in order toinstantaneously heat a hotdog roll for example which is placed above theapertures 16 on the hot plate 12. It will be observed in FIGURE 1 thatthe apertures 16 are arranged in a line so as to evenly distribute thedry steam onto an elongated hotdog roll placed over the apertures. Itwill therefore be apparent that one need only place the hotdog rollabove the apertures 16 on the hot plate 12 and depress the switch button14 whereupon the steam will heat the roll to the required temperatureand the plate 12 will retain the roll warm until the hotdog is prepared.In FIGURE 6, a similar hot plate 18 is illustrated which hot platediffers from hot plate 12 only in that the apertures 20 thereof arearranged differently so as to evenly distribute the dry steam ejectedtherefrom onto a round-like hamburger bun. In both cases, the hot plate12 or 18 forms the top of a heating head assembly generally indicated bya reference numeral 22.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 in particular, it will be be observed that theheating assembly generally indicated by reference numeral 22 and theboiler device generally indicated by reference numeral 24 are mountedbelow the sandwich wrapping table top 10. The boiler device 2 is of aminiature design adapted to be installed beneath the table and connectedby a conduit 26 to the heating head assembly 22. It will therefore beobserved that the boiler device 24 has a steam outlet conduit 28 whichis connected to the steam inlet conduit 26 for the head assembly 22 bymeans of a steam stop valve 30. The heating head assembly may thereby beshut down when not in use. The boiler device 24 on the other hand issupplied with tap water by a conduit 32 and includes a cold water inletvalve 34 by means of which the boiler device may be shut down. Theboiler device includes an insulated tank concentrically disposed withina tank shell member 36 enclosing therewithin all attachments to theboiler tank. Water entering the boiler device through conduit 32 maytherefore be heated into steam by the heating unit 38 in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the art, the boiler device also being providedinternally with the proper baffling in protective relation between theincoming water and the heating unit 38. A boiler level sight device 40is therefore also provided and the boiler device also has mountedthereon a pair of steam pressure lines 42 and 44 connected respectivelyto a control box 46 and pressure gauge 48. The pressure lines areconnected by means of a T-connector 50 to the side of the boiler tank36. Accordingly, the pressure gauge 48 will indicate the pressure of thesteam generated by the boiler while the control box 46 may respond tothe pressure and perhaps to a temperature responsive element within thetank 36 to thereby control the heating element unit 38 in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the art. Electrical conduit 52 thereforeinterconnects the heating unit 38 to the control box 46 while a powerinlet line 54 is also operatively connected to the heating unit 38. Itwill also be observed from FIGURE 2 that a safety pop off valve unit 56is provided in order to limit the maximum pressure of the steamgenerated within the tank 36 of the boiler device. It will therefore beapparent that the boiler device 24 will continuously supply steam underpressure to the heating head assembly 22 for accompplishing theobjectives of this invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 7, it will be observed that theheating head assembly 22 comprises a cylindrical member 58 about which asheet of insulation 60 is disposed. A strap member 62 holds theinsulation 60 assembled on the member 58 and may also provide the meansfor anchoring or mounting the head assembly 22 below the table 18'. Thehot plate 12 is therefore welded to the top end of the cylindricalmember 58 and the thickness of the hot plate 12 projects above the topsur-- face of the table 10. With the cylindrical member Silt beingclosed at the top end by the hot plate 12, the bottom end of the member58 is closed by means of a bottom plate 64 which is welded thereto withthe bottom surface of the bottom plate 64- being flush with the bottomend of the member 58. Also, as more clearly seen in FIG-- URE 3, apartition plate 66 is connected internally to the inner walls of themember 58 intermediate the top and bottom ends thereof but closer to thetop end. The partition plate 66 also may be welded in position asillustrated. Accordingly, the partition plate 66 defines therebelow asteam pressure storage chamber 68 while thereabove the partition plate66 defines a dry steam chamber 70. It will therefore be apparent thatthe steam pressure storage chamber 68 which is connected to the steaminlet 26 will be in heat transfer relationship to the dry steam chamber70 through the partition plate 66 so as to maintain the chamber 78heated at all times. On the other hand, the dry steam chamber is incommunication with the apertures 16 so as to supply therethrough oreject therethrough the dry steam with which the chamber 78 becomescharged in order to provide for the instantaneous heating hereinbeforeindicated. It will therefore be appreciated that the disposition of thedry steam chamber '78 above the pressure chamber 68 is significantinasmuch as the heated steam within the chamber 68 rises to the topthereof for maintaining the maximum temperature of the chamber 68 at thebottom surface of the partition plate 66 in order to continuously heatthe chamber 70. The chamber 76 being disposed above the pressure chamber68 and only selectively and momentarily charged with steam willtherefore always avoid accumulation of condensation therein and therebyavoid rendering the buns or rolls soggy because of moisture carried withthe steam through the apertures 16. The'subsequently condensed moistureof the dry steam ejected through the apertures 16 will therefore providethe requisite and minimum moisture for conditioning the buns or rolls asdesired. It will therefore be appreciated that it is essential that thesteam delivered to the chamber 70 be devoid of any condensation that maybe carried with the steam as it enters chamber 68 or as is condensedwithin the chamber 68.

It will therefore be observed from FIGURES 3, 4 and 7 that the steaminlet conduit 26 is connected to the bottom plate 64 by being threadedat an upper portion 72 thereof which is threadedly received within afitting member 74 welded within an opening 76 within the bottom plate64. An outer fitting member 78 also threadedly receives the upperportion 72 of the conduit 26 and is also welded to the bottom plate 64,as more clearly seen in FIGURE 7. On the other hand, a steam outletconduit 80 as more clearly seen in FIGURE 3 is threadedly receivedwithin the bottom plate 64 and has an upper end thereof projecting abovethe bottom plate. It will there fore be apparent that condensationforming on the floor of the chamber 68 will not enter the steam outletconduit 88 inasmuch as its upper end is disposed thereabove. Also, abafile member 82 is connected to the bottom plate 64 within the chamber68 and dis-posed in protective deflecting relation to the upper end ofthe steam outlet conduit 88 so as to avoid condensation forming withinthe chamber 68 from entering the outlet conduit 80. The bottom plate 64also has connected thereto as by welding a dry steam delivery conduit84. The upper end of the delivery conduit 84 to connected to and extendsthrough the partition plate 66 with the open upper end 86 incommunication with the dry steam chamber 78. It will be observedtherefore, that the steam passing through the conduit 84 will be in heattransfer relationship to the steam within the chamber 68 so as tofurther heat the passing steam and avoid any condensation moisture frombeing admitted to the chamber 70.

It will therefore be apparent that a selectively operable means must beprovided in order to connect the steam outlet conduit 89 to the steamdelivery conduit 84 as described hereinbefore. Accordingly, a solenoidoperated valve mechanism generally indicated by reference numeral 88 isprovided for such purpose. Referring therefore to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 itwill be observed that the valve mechanism 88 includes a valve bodyportion 90 within which a valve plunger element 92 is disposed. Thesteam outlet conduit 80 is therefore connected to the valve body 90 bymeans of an elbow fitting 94 while the dry steam delivery conduit isconnected to the valve body 90 by means of fitting 96, conduit 98 andfitting 100. The valve element 92 is therefore slidable within a steppedvalve bore 102 to which the fitting 96 is connected for communication ofthe delivery conduit 84 with the valve bore 102 as seen in FIGURE 5. Theconduit 80 on the other hand is connected by the fitting 94 to atransverse inlet bore 104 which is connected to the valve bore 102. Thevalve element 92 in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 5 willtherefore block communication between the conduits 80 and 84. In orderto actuate the valve element 92, solenoid winding 106 is disposed withinthe solenoid casing 108 mounted above the valve body 90. The solenoidarmature member 110 is connected to the valve element 92 for actuationthereof in an upward direction as viewed in FIGURE 5 in order to openthe valve so as to admit steam from conduit 80 into conduits 98 and 84.The solenoid winding 106 is therefore momentarily energized for suchpurpose upon actuation and release of the switch 14. Electrical wiringconductors 112 are therefore connected to the winding 106 and extendlaterally from one side of the solenoid casing 108 to the switch device14 as seen in FIGURE 2. The electrical power may therefore be connectedthrough the switch device 14 by means of conductors 114.

From the foregoing description, operation and utility of the apparatusof this invention will be apparent. It will therefore be appreciatedthat the heating head assembly 22 incorporates a pressure storagechamber providing a ready supply of steam for both heating the dry steamchamber 70 and supplying it with a charge of dry steam for instantaneousheating purposes. Accordingly, the pressure chamber includes structuresuch as the baffle member 82 and the extension of the outlet conduitabove the bottom of the chamber as well as the passage of the deliveryconduit 84 through the chamber to avoid carrying of condensed moisturewith the steam supplied to the chamber 70. As a result thereof, nomoisture will accumulate within the chamber 70 so that the steam ejectedthrough the apertures 16 will never soak the buns or rolls even afterprolonged and continuous use of the apparatus. It will also beappreciated that rapid heating may be effected by depression of theswitch device 14 whereby energization of the solenoid winding 106 willopen the valve mechanism 88 to supply a charge of steam to the chamber70 forejection through the apertures 16. Rapid, continuous, reliable andeffective heating and warming of food products may therefore beaccomplished by the use of the apparatus of this invention to a degreenot heretofore possible.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. Apparatus for warming buns or the like comprising pressure steamsupply means, an insulated head having a closed bottom end, a top endand a partition member disposed therebetween and forming with saidbottom end a steam storage operatively connected to said supply meansfor receiving steam therefrom at a predetermined pressure, hot platemeans closing the top end of the head member to form above the partitionmember a dry steam chamber in heat exchanging relation to the steamstorage for heating the chamber, steam outlet means having one enddisposed above said bottom end of the storage, selectively operablemeans mounted below and operatively connected to said steam outlet meansto draw steam therefrom, anddry steam delivery means operativelyconnected to said selectively operable means and extending upwardlytherefrom through the storage and communicating with the chamber, thehot plate means having therein apertures in communication with thechamber for delivering steam from the storage to the chamber and thenceto the exterior of the hot plate means under the control of saidselectively operable means.

2. The combination of claim 1, having, in addition, baffle means mountedin the storage adjacent to said one end of the steam outlet means fordeflecting condensation away therefrom.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said selectively operable meanscomprises solenoid operated valve means connected to said steam outletmeans of the storage and to said dry steam delivery means and momentaryswitch means operatively connected to the solenoid operated valve meansfor momentarily actuating the valve means to admit therethrough a chargeof dry steam.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said heating head member isadapted to be mounted below a table with the hot plate means exposed andreceived within an opening in said table.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said steam supply means comprisesa boiler device mounted below and operatively connected to the storage.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said hot plate means apertures aregeometrically arranged relative to a bun or the like adapted to beplaced on the hot plate means to evenly distribute thereon the dry steamejected through the apertures.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein said heating head member isadapted to be mounted below a table with the hot plate means exposed andreceived within an opening in said table.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said steam supply means comprisesa boiler device mounted below and operatively connected to the storage.

9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said hot plate means apertures aregeometrically arranged relative to a bun or the like adapted to beplaced on the hot plate means to evenly distribute thereon the dry steamejected through the apertures.

10. A heating head assembly adapted to be mounted below a table forheating and warming buns or the like, comprising, a cylindrical member,a bottom plate Welded to the member at a bottom end, an insulationsheath disposed about the member, clamp means for holding the sheathabout the member and adapted to anchor the assembly below the table, ahot plate welded to the member at a top end adapted to be flush with thetop of the table, said hot plate extending laterally beyond the memberand above the table, a partition plate welded to the member intermediatethe bottom and top ends thereof to define a stream pressure storagechamber therebelow and a dry steam chamber thereabove, a steam inletconduit connected to the bottom plate, a steam outlet conduit connectedto the bottom plate and projecting thereabove into the steam pressurestorage chamber, a baffle plate disposed in protective relation to anupper end of the steam outlet conduit, a dry steam delivery conduitconnected to the bottom and partition plates and extending through thesteam pressure chamber with an upper end thereof in communication withthe dry steam chamber, and solenoid operated valve mechanism mountedbelow the bottom plate and connected to the steam outlet and deliveryconduits.

11. A steaming head assembly for warming food products comprising avertically disposed tubular casing member having open upper and lowerends, an apertured plate member extending across said upper end of saidcasing member, a first plate member extending across said casing memberspaced from said apertured plate member and defining a dry steam chambertherewith, another plate member extending across said casing memberspaced from said first plate member and defining a steam storage chambertherewith, a raw steam inlet conduit extending through said other platemember for introducing steam to said storage chamber from a source ofsteam supply, a steam outlet conduit extending through and above saidother plate member and spaced from said raw steam inlet passage, a drysteam inlet conduit extending through both of said plate members andspaced from said raw steam inlet conduit for introducing dry steam intosaid dry steam chamber, and a control valve disposed on the side of saidother plate member remote from said steam storage chamber and connectingsaid steam outlet conduit to said dry steam inlet conduit forselectively admitting steam from said steam storage chamber to said drysteam chamber.

12. A steaming head assembly for Warming food produces comprising avertically disposed tubular casing member having open upper and lowerends, an apertured plate member extending across said upper end of saidcasing member, a first plate member extending across said casing memberspaced from said apertured plate member and defining a dry steam chambertherewith, another plate member extending across said casing memberspaced from said first plate member and defining a steam storage chambertherewith, a raw steam inlet conduit extending through said other platemember for introducing steam to said storage chamber from a source ofsteam supply, a

(J steam outlet conduit extending through and above said other platemember and spaced from said raw steam inlet passage, a dry steam inletconduit communicating with said dry steam chamber and extendingtherefrom to the side of said other plate member remote from said steamstorage chamber and having at least a portion of the Wall thereof incontact with the steam in said steam storage chamber and spaced fromsaid raw steam inlet conduit for introducing dry steam into said drysteam chamber, and a control valve disposed on the side of said otherplate member remote from said steam storage chamber and connecting saidsteam outlet conduit to said dry steam inlet conduit for selectivelyadmitting steam from said steam storage chamber to said dry steamchamber.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,963,822 6/1934Beede 38-15 2,181,434 11/1939 Lewis et al 126-369 X 2,617,349 11/1952Tucker 99-234 X 2,620,789 12/1952 Gregory 99--234 X 2,973,705 3/1961Klemm 99234 5 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

12. A STEAMING HEAD ASSEMBLY FOR WARMING FOOD PRODUCES COMPRISING AVERTICALLY DISPOSED TUBULAR CASING MEMBER HAVING OPEN UPPER AND LOWERENDS, AN APERTURED PLATE MEMBER EXTENDING ACROSS SAID UPPER END OF SAIDCASING MEMBER, A FIRST PLATE MEMBER EXTENDING ACROSS SAID CASING MEMBERSPACED FROM SAID APERTURED PLATE MEMBER AND DEFINING A DRY STEAM CHAMBERTHEREWITH, ANOTHER PLATE MEMBER EXTENDING ACROSS SAID CASING MEMBERSPACED FROM SAID FIRST PLATE MEMBER AND DEFINING A STEAM STORAGE CHAMBERTHEREWITH, A RAW STEAM INLET CONDUIT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OTHER PLATEMEMBER FOR INTRODUCING STEAM TO SAID STORAGE CHAMBER FROM A SOURCE OFSTEAM SUPPLY, A STEAM OUTLET CONDUIT EXTENDING THROUGH AND ABOVE SAIDOTHER PLATE MEMBER AND SPACED FROM SAID RAW STEAM INLET PASSAGE, A DRYSTEAM INLET CONDUIT COMMUNICATING WITH SAID DRY STEAM CHAMBER ANDEXTENDING THEREFROM TO THE SIDE OF SAID OTHER PLATE MEMBER REMOTE FROMSAID STEAM STORAGE CHAMBER AND HAVING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE WALLTHEREOF IN CONTACT WITH THE STEAM IN SAID STEAM STORAGE CHAMBER ANDSPACED FROM SAID RAW STEAM INLET CONDUIT FOR INTRODUCING DRY STEAM INTOSAID DRY STEAM CHAMBER, AND A CONTROL VALVE DISPOSED ON THE SIDE OF SAIDOTHER PLATE MEMBER REMOTE FROM SAID STEAM STORAGE CHAMBER AND CONNECTINGSAID STEAM OUTLET CONDUIT TO SAID DRY STEAM INLET CONDUIT FORSELECTIVELY ADMITTING STEAM FROM SAID STEAM STORAGE CHAMBER TO SAID DRYSTEAM CHAMBER.